Actor Shin Ha-kyun is to star in tvN's new police procedural "Pied Piper" as a police negotiator trying to track down a mysterious criminal whose nickname gives the show its title.

The negotiator was a former smart looking and eloquent businessman and he uses his psychological skills to penetrate the minds of hostage takers and terrorists.

"Communication is the most important part in this drama," said Shin during a press meeting at Times Square in Yeoungdeungpo-gu, western Seoul, Thursday. "Negotiating is a form of this so to understand the drama people will have to watch it closely."

Shin and his fellow actors trained with a police negotiation team before shooting began; and studied under Prof. Lee Jong-hwa at the Korean National Police University, who gave them background knowledge on negotiating skills. Lee completed a course in crisis negotiation at the New York Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States.

"We did not know much about negotiation teams before filming the drama. But Lee gave us lessons and showed us real footage of negotiations, which helped a lot," said actress Jo Yoon-hee.

Scriptwriter Ryu Yong-jae said there have been no television series that have dealt with this genre even though it happens in real life. He said he wanted to show the audience that hostage situations can often be resolved through talking and persuasion without gunfire.

Shin's last appearance in a drama was "Mr. Back" on MBC in 2014, for which he won the Most Popular Actor Award at the MBC Drama Awards.